Rookie Rashad joins Riders’ roster

by UK American Sports Fans

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Leicester Riders have added their first new face to next year’s playing roster, acquiring versatile 23-year-old forward Rashad Hassan.

A graduate of Savannah State University, 6’8’’ forward Hassan averaged 12.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per-game last year. A force in the paint, Hassan offers offensive presence also, scoring points at the post whilst also proving to be a good mid-range shooter of the basketball.

His 13 points and 5.3 rebounds in the 2011-12 season helped to crown the Savannah State Tigers as Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions; the team’s first regular season championship for 11 years.

The switch to Leicester will be Georgia-born Hassan’s first as a professional, where he will hope to emulate the likes of Jay Couisnard and Zaire Taylor, who impressed in their rookie season in the United Kingdom.

“I feel great,” said Rashad on joining Leicester Riders.

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to play pro basketball and I’m ready to begin playing for the Riders. It really wasn’t a tough decision, because I was happy about coming to a winning organisation.

“I’m excited and I don’t feel any pressure, because I know I’m coming to a focused and great team. I’m just going to come in and try to keep the momentum flowing in a positive direction.

“I feel I can bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the team,” he continued.

“I come from a winning background and I plan to keep that going with my upcoming season with the Riders.”

Leicester Riders head coach, Rob Paternostro, was just as delighted to acquire Hassan ahead of the new season.

“When we first saw Rashad, we were impressed by his natural ability,” he said.

“During his career at Savannah State, he was able to put up some impressive numbers. When we looked into him, we felt that he was a guy that could offer us a lot on both ends of the floor and is a player that we’re looking forward to working with.

“He’s been efficient on the offensive end throughout his career,” Rob added.

“You look at his field-goal percentage numbers, each year he has been very consistent and has shown the ability to put up some big numbers. We feel that he’s a guy that is getting better and has a lot of potential. We feel he is a player that will translate well to our league.”